After a decade of automobile integration in its consumer models, Bowers & Wilkins has extended its partnership with McLaren to include the F1 Team. This means lots of co-branding on vehicles and crew member overalls, but also coincides with a special-edition version of the latest-gen top-shelf Pi8 earbuds. Let’s take a look…
A Decade of Magic
For the past 10 years, Bowers & Wilkins has outfitted McLaren’s supercars with some of the finest speakers in the world with integrated audio systems in models such as the 600LT, Artura, and 570 series vehicles. And with the W1 hybrid hypercar, the British hi-fi firm has even developed custom-engineered speakers to pair perfectly with the unique acoustic environments of the car.
However, the partnership has also yielded non-automobile products such as the Px8 McLaren Edition headphones in 2022, featuring subtle orange accents on the black monitors, and the very orange version of the brand’s blimp-inspired Zeppelin home speaker in 2023 for the auto marque’s 60th anniversary.
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 McLaren Edition Basics
For this special McLaren Edition variant of the Pi8 earbuds, Bowers & Wilkins have given it a new colorway, utilizing Galvanic Grey for the base color but then accenting the monitors with Papaya Orange on the aluminum backing — both colors signatures of McLaren. The colorway then extends to the case, putting gray on the exterior and orange on the inside. McLaren branding is also found on both the case and earbuds themselves. Bowers & Wilkins has always made arguably the best-looking earbuds on the market, and these are perhaps the most attractive variant they have.
Still the Same Top-Shelf Buds
Like the standard Pi8, these wireless earbuds house a pair of new and improved 12mm drivers, paired with Bowers & Wilkins’ Carbon Cone drive units that reduce distortion and improve hi-fi precision. The digital signal processing (DSP) was also increased to 32-bit with these new-gen earbuds.
With reference-quality audio, the earbuds also boast Qualcomm’s latest aptX Lossless Bluetooth for essentially the best sound you can achieve with wireless earbuds. To achieve its noise cancellation, the Pi8 features a trio of microphones that adjust to your surroundings. You’ll also get 6.5 hours of playback, even with ANC turned on. What’s more, the charging case gives you an extra 13.5 hours. It also has a retransmission feature that allows you to transmit audio to an audio source for listening.
Spec Sheet
Model: Pi8 McLaren Edition
Drivers: 2 x 12mm
Battery Life: 6.5 hours (20 hours with case)
DSP: 32-bit
Connectivity: Qualcomm aptX Lossless Bluetooth
Water Resistance: IP54
Limited Edition?: Yes, unspecified
Pricing & Availability
Already sold out, the Pi8 McLaren Edition earbuds were priced at $499 — a hundred more than the non-McLaren versions. Head over to Bowers & Wilkins website to learn more.
Recap
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 McLaren Edition Earbuds
After 10 years, Bowers & Wilkins extends its partnership with McLaren to its F1 team, honoring the news with a special edition of the Pi8 earbuds.
